Borders town braces for first winter test of new flood protections

Hawick has a long history of flooding with a guest house collapsing into the river in 2020

The Hawick flood protection scheme is one of the biggest ever completed in Scotland.

With a price tag last reported at £92m it has seen a huge infrastructure investment in the Borders.

Work on the main contract started in July 2020 and took about five years in total.

Now it is set to face the first real test of its capabilities as it prepares for the worst of what a Scottish winter can throw at it.

So how confident are locals and those behind it that it will prevent the scenes so often witnessed in the town before?

Ronnie and Joan Hamilton have lived near the river for more than 40 years

Joan Hamilton and her husband Ronnie have lived near the town's rugby club - near the River Teviot - for more than 40 years.

Their home has been regularly affected - but the worst incident was 20 years ago.

"It was really flooded out in 2005, I mean, the water was up to past our knees and it was really bad," Joan said.

"It had an impact on my husband's health, for a start, and we had to get out of the house for more than six months.

"We were put up in the hotel for the first week, and then we were allocated a little house up in Burnfoot for the rest of the six months."

She said she had got used to living with the threat but her husband found it more difficult to cope with and the defences were very welcome.

"It's made a big difference to our life," she said.

"We're not always on edge thinking what's going to happen.

"It's been a big job but it's been worth it for us."

Project director Conor Price has spent the past 16 years working on defences for Galashiels, Selkirk and his largest to date in Hawick.

He said that although a lot of other elements had been incorporated into the project it remained, first and foremost, a flood protection scheme.

"It was conceived as a project to reduce the flood risk in the town of Hawick because of the enormous flood risk that it has had over many centuries," he said.

"In the end, it is still a flood protection scheme."

However, he said the opportunity to add other benefits - by improving pathways and active travel - had come along during the "design journey".

Conor Price said the scheme had presented a number of challenges

Mr Price said working in such a historic town presented a number of difficulties but two areas had proved particularly testing.

One was at Sandbed where a guesthouse collapsed into the river in 2020.

The second was at Commercial Road where a section of trunk road needed to be replaced and public utilities moved which had to be carried out before the main work could begin.

He said that, from his point of view, local people had been "extremely patient".

"The people of the town understood the scale of flood risk," he said.

"They desired a flood protection scheme. They knew that the future of the town required one.

"And from my perspective, they have been absolutely fantastic."

He said he hoped that the scheme could give them some peace of mind and cut out "sleepless nights" when the river rises.

"What I can tell you is that with the defences that are in place today, that every flood that has ever been recorded in Hawick would have been able to safely travel through those defences if those defences had been in place in the past," he added.

He knows they will face a "robust test" in future and that the council will need to "remain vigilant" to ensure they are managed, maintained and repaired so they are always ready for use.

The project has already picked up a number of awards for its engineering and construction but the biggest ambition is to take away the scenes witnessed in years gone by.

The new defences should protect hundreds of homes

Stuart Marshall is a local councillor and chairs the Hawick Flood Group.

"I think the mood in the community now is one of relief," he said.

"For the first year, I think, since 2005, the Hawick residents will be able to sleep easy in their beds without being worrying about flooding.

"It's something that's plagued our town for many, many years."

He said people had "every right" to question the cost but the investment meant everyone in the community could feel "much safer".

A final price tag is expected to be revealed soon but is likely to exceed £100m.

It is hoped the flood scheme can help avoid a repeat of scenes like this

He said the memories of one of the worst incidents - in October 2005 - were fresh in his mind and seeing people who had lost the entire contents of their home or business.

"Seeing the grief on their faces - that'll stay with me forever," he said.

He too, is awaiting the scheme's first big test.

"I think there'll be a degree of nervousness," he admitted.

The flood group will still stand ready as they await the first "big waters" to see how the protection system behaves.

"All eyes will be on Hawick when the weather closes in and the river levels start to rise," he added.